The angel Lucifer became Satan – the adversary – when he said “I will” (Isaiah 14).
Conversely, the man, Jesus, became Christ – the Saviour – when He said “Thy will”. (Matthew 26:42).
In every believer these two responses to God co-exist; that is why Christians, to a certain extent, are spiritually schizophrenic; the struggle between the inherent evil nature and the redeemed new man will endure while we live. Life in this world is learning to forego the one and take on the other.
If we decide one way, hell enlarges itself; if the other, heaven prepares another mansion.
Sadly, a whole generation of Christians has grown up believing that it is possible to accept Christ without forsaking the world, but it is an error to assume that we can enjoy redemption without transformation. That error is seen today in the lack of any expectation that a converted man will be a transformed man; the absence of any moral impact of faith in men means that our Churches are filled with people who believe that salvation is possible without repentance. This is religion without righteousness and is a grotesque deception.
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